Rags, Strides & Habaneras is a visually dazzling showcase of musical traditions at the core of jazz, Latin jazz, and popular styles from throughout the Americas. Four brilliant pianists and threeof New York City’s most captivating dancers will bring to life a virtuosic repertoire rooted in Africa and developed through New Orleans, Harlem, Argentina, Cuba, and Spain. Pianists include 90-year-old national treasure Dick Hyman; 14-year-old international sensation Joey Alexander; flamenco jazz genius Chano Dominguez; and rising star Sullivan Fortner, the American Pianists Association’s 2015 Cole Porter Fellow. Tearing up the stage will be tap dancer Jared Grimes, young phenomenon Eddie Torres, Jr.,and flamenco dancer Jesús Carmona.

In Nursery Song Swing, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis playfully utilizes songs you know and love to showcase the Orchestra's greatest strengths: unprecedented stylistic versatility, masterful soloists, and creative roster of expert arrangers. In this group's hands, the simplicity and familiarity of childhood favorites like "Old MacDonald," "Wheels on the Bus," and "It's Not Easy Being Green" afford a world of musical possibilities. Come witness how jazz can transform even the most familiar songs and take listeners on an unforgettable ride.

NEA Jazz Master, Carnegie Hall Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and 14-time Grammy Award winner Paquito D'Rivera is one of the greatest musicians alive. This program explores one of his favorite albums: Charlie Parker’s Bird with Strings. D’Rivera and his ensemble will perform selections from the original recording, arrangements of unrecorded tunes from the project, and new takes on Parker’s work with Latin jazz legends like Machito and Chico O’Farrill.

The Swing Collective is a new quintet of enormously talented young musicians representing five countries of origin: Chilean tenor saxophonist and Thelonious Monk Competition winner Melissa Aldana, Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles, Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca, Japanese bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and Ulysses Owens, Jr. of Jacksonville, Florida. To witness these artists on a single stage is an exciting prospect, but tonight’s performance will be particularly special as they each debut new works composed specifically for this occasion.

Our Jazz for Young People series continues with an hour-long, interactive celebration of composer, arranger, and pianist Mary Lou Williams (1910–1981). Families will learn the inspiring tale of a young woman who realized her dreams through determination, imagination, incredible talent, and a famously big heart. Her music was truly as adventurous as her personality, and you will be fascinated to discover her influence on several generations of creative jazz musicians. Hosting this event is vocalist Catherine Russell.

Michael Feinstein launches his eighth consecutive year of the Jazz & Popular Song series by celebrating the best of the Rat Pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. With unbelievable true stories and hits like "That's Life," "I've Got You Under my Skin," and "Birth of the Blues," Feinstein will transport us to a time when the nation was swept away by the Pack's effortless cool.